Coal is found to be a key component of a secure energy supply in all the regions and countries covered, the report found.

Following the launch of the report, the World Coal Association CEO Benjamin Sporton said: “As the Paris Agreement is formally adopted, it is vitally important that its implementation integrates environmental imperatives with the aims of universal access to energy, energy security and social and economic development.

All low-carbon technologies must play a role including HELE coal technology and CCS.”

Leader of the CIAB Energy Security Working Group and lead author of the report Dr Hans-Wilhelm Schiffer said: “Coal and renewables complement each other and are partners in the effort to meet present and future energy requirements.

“Coal-fired power plants provide dispatchable capacity due to their ability to operate flexibly and so compensate for the fluctuations of wind and solar energy supply. In addition, coal-fired power plants can also be seen as an economic balance to the higher system costs of most renewable energies.”